Water Fun Facts
- Only 3% of Earth’s water is freshwater. 97% of the water on Earth is saltwater.
- The water found at the Earth’s surface in lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and swamps makes up only 0.3% of the world’s freshwater.
- 68.7% of the fresh water on Earth is trapped in glaciers.
- 30% of freshwater is in the ground.
- 1.7% of the world’s water is frozen and therefore unusable.
- Water covers 70.9% of the Earth’s surface.
- Water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid including sulfuric acid.
- More than 25% of bottled water comes from a municipal water supply, the same place that tap water comes from.[i]
- A ten-meter rise in sea levels due to melting glaciers would flood 25% of the population of the United States.
- There is more fresh water in the atmosphere than in all of the rivers on the planet combined.
- If all of the water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere fell at once, distributed evenly, it would only cover the earth with about an inch of water.
- Water boils quicker in Denver, Colorado than in New York City.
- Approximately 400 billion gallons of water are used in the United States per day.
- Nearly one-half of the water used by Americans is used for thermoelectric power generation.
- In one year, the average American residence uses over 100,000 gallons (indoors and outside).
- It takes six and a half years for the average American residence to use the amount of water required to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool (660,000 gallons).
- It takes seven and a half years for the average American residence to use the same amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls in one second (750,000 gallons).
- American residents use about 100 gallons of water per day.
- Americans use more water each day by flushing the toilet than they do by showering or any other activity.[ii]
- In 1900, 25,000 Americans died of typhoid. By 1960, thanks to the use of chlorine in water treatment, that number dropped to 20.[iii]
- At 50 gallons per day, residential Europeans use about half of the water that residential Americans use.[iv]
- Residents of sub-Saharan Africa use only 2-5 gallons of water per day.[v]
- The average faucet flows at a rate of 2 gallons per minute. You can save up to four gallons of water every morning by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth.
- Taking a bath requires up to 70 gallons of water. A five-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons.
- A running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water per day.
- The New York City water supply system leaks 36 million gallons per day.[vi]
- If you drink your daily recommended 8 glasses of water per day from the tap, it will cost you about 50 cents per year. If you choose to drink it from water bottles, it can cost you up to $1,400 dollars.[vii]
- There are approximately one million miles of water pipeline and aqueducts in the United States and Canada, enough to circle Earth 40 times.[viii]
- The first water pipes in the US were made from wood (bored logs that were charred with fire).
- The first municipal water filtration works opened in Paisley, Scotland in 1832
- A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.
- A cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 pounds
- An inch of water covering one acre (27,154 gallons) weighs 113 tons.
- Water vaporizes at 212 degrees F, 100 degrees C.
- It takes more water to manufacture a new car (39,090 gallons) than to fill an above-ground swimming pool.
- It takes more than ten gallons of water to produce one slice of bread.[ix]
- Over 713 gallons of water go into the production of one cotton T-shirt.[x]
- 1000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.[xi]
- Roughly 634 gallons of water go into the production of one hamburger.[xii]
- Water is the only substance found on earth naturally in three forms: solid, liquid and gas.
- At 1 drip per second, a faucet can leak 3,000 gallons per year.
- Water makes up between 55-78% of a human’s body weight.
